Chapter 16

16

Her brother looked horrible, even two days after she'd flown to his rescue. Powell studied him where he sat, in a big recliner right in front of a massive fireplace in the lobby of the Talley Inn. Brandt could barely move. He was battered and bruised, and it hurt to see him like that.

Powell wanted to take him home. Where she would be able to take care of him herself. But there was a stubborn look in his eyes. Brandt was determined to make his own empire—and he wanted to do it in Wyoming.

Because of Meyra Talley. Her family ran the Talley Inn, where they were right now. Powell had met Meyra a few times before. Meyra was very quiet and reserved, definitely hard to figure out.

Brandt was watching Meyra, a look in his eyes Powell had never seen on this particular brother's face before. Brandt was planning something. Powell was almost certain of it. Brandt usually was.

"Erickson's back yet again. Look," her brother Alex said from where he sat next to her. "There he is. Want to run and hide like you did last night?"

Powell shot Alex a glare. He could be a grumpy jerk sometimes. No denying that. Both her eldest brothers fit that description, though Mac had a wickedly funny sense of humor. He was really playful too. When he wasn't going into Intense-Mac-Monster mode.

They were also some of the kindest, most loyal, most beautiful men she had ever known. They could just be a little too arrogant sometimes. Well, a lot too arrogant most times, really. They were spoiled—she had long believed that.

It was her job to keep them in check.

But Powell was going to be a bit too busy to wrangle them going forward. She had a Viking baby to worry about. That was going to take a lot of her focus, after all.

Powell would have to come up with a plan on how to handle her brothers now. It was probably time to just marry them off and everything. Give them over to some other poor women to handle.

They needed good women to knock them down a peg or two. And she wanted nieces and nephews someday. She consciously resisted covering her stomach, where her little secret grew.

She wanted her baby to have cousins to play with. It would have to be her brothers to provide them—the father of her baby was an only child, after all. Powell was just going to have to find decent women crazy enough to fall for her two older brothers. Fast.

Where should she even begin, though? Her brothers were very complicated creatures. Ordinary women just wouldn't do. Not for those two.

Brandt was busy working on his own plans already. He'd always been the cleverest of the boys—she had trained him quite well, after all. She was going to give this serious consideration. After she dealt with the father of her baby.

Gunnar Erickson. What was he doing now?

Powell's stomach tightened with nerves. Her hands slicked, fast. She watched him. That was the most beautiful man in existence. It was too hard to look away. But something had happened. She could see it on his face.

He had been out of the inn long before she'd even made it downstairs to the dining room that morning. She'd escaped after dinner the night before while he had been speaking with the sheriff of Masterson. It had been cowardly of her, but her stomach had been riding its own individual roller coaster at the time. And she just had not wanted questions from her goon squad.

Powell tensed. She just knew something else had happened. And it wasn't good at all.

The father of her baby was storming across the lobby of the inn—a look of fire and irritation on his far-too-beautiful face.

Fear for her friends in Finley Creek was strong. It had been ever since that night. The choir hall shooting. It had changed them all.

He had Charlotte next to him. With a slightly confused look on her face. Gunnar had told Powell he was going to be caught up in his OPJ case the entire time he was in Masterson. He'd had meetings late into the night last night.

But he'd wanted to have dinner with her tonight. Powell had promised him she would. She had to find a way to tell him about the little Viking baby version of him she was baking right now. Very, very soon.

The man just deserved to know.

"What's wrong? Has something happened?" Powell asked. She hated it when he looked like that—when something was obviously upsetting him. He took on too much. She could see that for herself. She just wanted to fix it for the man. Every single time. Someone needed to take care of him sometimes too. "Did someone come from Major Crimes?"

He'd told her someone was meeting him up there, and he wouldn't get in her hair this time. That he was working and she was to keep herself safe at the inn with the bodyguard and her brothers until he was finished.

Then they'd have dinner together, and she could seduce him again—as many times as Powell would like. But they'd have to be quieter since her brothers were on the same floor this time.

Powell had had some really wicked thoughts when he'd said that.

The man had known it too.

She was still tingling from the kiss he'd given her then. He'd just swooped her up off her feet and kissed her. Right there in the elevator. Gunnar Erickson was the most dangerous man on the planet—especially when he kissed her.

She was there with her brothers, for Brandt. That was the entire reason she was in Masterson now. But she'd wanted to watch for Gunnar all day.

She'd worried about him too.

Powell wasn't an idiot—she knew the man got under her skin. He most likely always would. Their baby would probably have that same skill in a totally different way. Her hand dropped to her stomach again. She just couldn't stop doing that. There was a baby in there. Hers. His. Theirs.

"They're in the parking lot now."

They? She'd been under the impression it was going to be one guy from Major Crimes. To meet with Gunnar, and possibly Charlie, who was already up here skulking around with his wife Rory somewhere. "Okay, so what's going on?"

"Daniel sent Heather. "

"What? Why?" Alex asked, straightening. "After what happened?"

"I don't know. She's supposed to still be suspended," Gunnar said. Fury was all over him. "For another two weeks."

"She was suspended ?" Mac asked. "Why did that happen?"

"Because Daniel is an asshole," Gunnar answered, the fury in his words hard to miss. "And I'm going to kick his ass myself for this. He had no business sending her up here right now. None."

"Oh, boy," Alex said. "I bet Heather is beyond pissed right now. Everyone, find a hiding place and get ready. Powell—you're small enough. Get under the end table. You should be safe enough there. This is not going to be good. Was that an earthquake I just felt? No. It was Scary Heather on the warpath. Everyone brace yourselves."

"Okay, Gun, what am I missing here?" Charlotte asked. "Who exactly is this Heather you speak of?"

"Heather Coleson, Zoey's aunt," Powell said quickly. "It was her younger sister who was shot the same night as Haldyn. Imagine Zoey but with Caine and Rafe's slightly sharper cheekbones. At a distance, you can barely tell Zo and Heather apart. They look eerily alike. Right down to the hairline and the way they tilt their heads. Heather's voice is just a little higher than Zo's, and I think her hair is different, maybe."

"It's a little bit beyond creepy," Mac said. "Heather is a vampire goddess queen too. I'm sure of it."

"I think Heather's hair is lighter than Zoey's and not nearly as straight," Alex added. "But I haven't looked close enough at her hair. I'm usually watching out for her fangs. Of course, Zoey has fangs too. Must be a family thing." He looked at Mac and hissed, held up claws. Mac bit back at him and hissed next.

Powell resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Brothers could be such trials.

"She bites harder than Zoey, though," Mac had to add. "But yes, you can't really tell her and Zoey apart at a glance unless they are within feet of each other. She's meaner too. She's almost taken my head off a few times."

"She really doesn't like Mac," Powell said. Something was going on—and it definitely involved Heather Coleson. Powell's curiosity was going haywire. Gunnar looked intense. Worried.

Powell didn't like seeing him like that at all.

"I'm sure you deserve it," Charlotte told Mac. Those two didn't exactly get along either. "Okay, so why is Gunnar so hot? Not that he isn't always, but it's a totally different kind of steamy right now. That man's temper is boiling. Something I have never seen before, actually."

"Because Daniel is using her." Gunnar really was angry. Powell just watched him, aware of her brothers and Charlotte doing the same. "He never should have sent her up here. I don't know what in the hell he's playing at right now."

"Why? I mean, this woman is Major Crimes, right? She knows the deal?" Charlotte asked. "So what's the big problem? Not that Daniel McKellen isn't a problem, but I'm not getting this one, guys."

"He has no business yanking that woman around like this." Gunnar was almost snarling. Powell knew he was a bit protective of Heather, but this was more than that. He was downright furious. Almost pacing.

What she would have said was cut short when the carved wooden doors to the inn swung open. Two women walked in, arms full—of kids. Powell recognized them both, even with their sweatshirt hoods over their heads. " Cara came with her? And Heather brought the girls?"

"Whoa, they really look like Zoey and Ariella right there. Like, wow, she looks like Zo-Zo. Talk about a little beyond creepy. So these Coleson clones were just wandering around out there, and no one even knew about them ? Do they all look like that? It's a tad freaky. And this one was with the TSP and never crossed paths with Zoey or anyone who even knew Zoey? I find that hard to believe," Charlotte said as Heather and Cara took off the hoods. Powell agreed with her on that. It was rather odd that no one in the TSP ihad put it together that Heather and Zoey were related before. Unless they had and had just kept it to themselves for some nefarious reason. "Who is the younger one? And the kids?"

"Of course she brought her girls. She had to. She's going to be here for three or four days, and she's still nursing her baby. He should have sent any of the others—he's just wanting to keep things quiet and within the governor's damned family. Part of his damned plan. Or he's up to something where she's concerned , " Gunnar said, almost pacing. Powell just watched him, resisting the urge to gawk. Wow. He was practically vibrating. "Whatever works for what Dan wants—not what is best for Heather. That son-of-a-bitch. He's lucky I don't clock him myself."

Oh, he was boiling mad. Charlotte looked at Powell, eyes wide.

"I have never seen Gunnar this angry before," Charlotte whispered to Powell. Powell just shook her head. She hadn't either. Powell shrugged. Gunnar headed toward the doors.

Steps behind Alex.

"Wait a minute," Mac said, next to Powell, watching. He and Heather hadn't exactly clicked when they'd met before. No denying that. And Mac's annoying-beyond-belief letters from Luc definitely hadn't helped. "Heather has a baby ? An actual kid? Those are her kids? She has kids?"

"Mac, sweetie, you did know Heather has two little girls, right?" Her brother could get a bit consumed by whatever he was working on at times. And be a bit clueless. She loved him anyway. And it would take a special kind of woman to handle him without wanting to clobber him every other day. "Missed that at the hospital the other night?"

She was pretty certain Heather had had her girls with her then.

Of course, Mac had been in and out of the waiting room. Pacing a bit. He always had kind of prowled when things were bothering him. Maybe he just hadn't put it together? Or had missed everything?

"I just thought they were her sisters' kids. Her family was passing the kids around like crazy. All the Coleson kids look alike. I didn't know Heather had captured a man long enough to reproduce. Who is the father? Or did she devour him when she was finished with him?" He had that intense look in his eyes again. One that told her he was going into Curious Mac mode. Which could be a not-good thing.

And that question was not one she wanted Heather to hear him asking.

"Do not ever ask that question out loud in front of a Coleson," Powell told him sharply. "About the girls' father. Ever. I mean it. Do not talk about their father at all in front of the Colesons, or they will rip your face off and tear you apart and feast on your insides. I'll fill you in later. In fact, don't mention the girls' father—if you can even call him that—in front of anyone from Major Crimes. Especially Gunnar, apparently. Good way to get your arms ripped off and shoved down your throat. Or so I have already heard."

"Noted." But that curious look in his blue eyes? He was going to get himself into trouble. Her brother had problems. He really did.

"I wonder what Daniel did? He and Gunnar fought about Heather a few days ago. Daniel suspended her for something the day after Hope was shot. Most of Major Crimes are angry over that. Like steaming angry. All of them. I've never seen Gunnar that angry before." Powell was seriously resisting the urge to follow him right now.

She had never seen that beautiful Viking man angry. Not like this.

And definitely not at Daniel. The two men were very close friends. Almost as close as Daniel and Mac, for that matter.

Gunnar was saying something to Heather, taking the bag in her left hand and swinging it over his own shoulder. She held the baby carrier in her other hand.

They were very pretty together like that. People were looking at them too. People always looked at beautiful people—Powell had seen that before. She had three highly beautiful brothers that she had made a point of observing her entire life, after all.

Alex was saying something to Cara, almost hovering over her. He was looking at her in a way Powell had never seen him look at a woman before.

How interesting.

She knew he had been attracted to Cara before, but he was almost ridiculous in how he was looking at her now. She'd been convinced her brother was just flirting with Cara, playing. Not serious. Alex had a habit of not being serious with women at all. Powell had just wanted him to apologize and convince Cara not to quit. That was it.

"That's the little intern Alex is being stupid over right there? She's a Coleson?" Mac asked, just watching, a strange light in his eyes. "Great. I didn't realize that."

And apparently wasn't too happy with it either.

"You really did miss things, didn't you?" Which, Powell had kind of missed it too, but ribbing her older brother was a requirement.

"I've been incredibly busy on the Wagner case. I do know that girl's his neighbor. I met her before. I think. Around the firm, maybe. They all look alike—the Colesons, not the interns. Well, maybe not the interns, actually. I don't think I've looked closely at the interns in ten years. I knew he had a thing for an intern, but I didn't put it together that she is a Coleson. I didn't know it had progressed to that. Hell, he's almost as bad as Brandt."

"Nothing wrong with knowing the woman you want, bro. Getting her to realize how you feel is a bit harder, unfortunately," Brandt said, watching from his seat by the fire. "He's totally gone over her, isn't he?"

"I don't know," Powell said, thinking. "Better play nice with the Colesons, Mac. You're going to be seeing far more of them, I'm sure."

"Great. Just what I wanted to hear. Heather has fangs. A smart man won't get too close. Maybe there is still time to warn Alex away from that girl?"

"Don't be a jerk to Heather, Mac. Just don't. I know she looks like she's a badass and tough enough to handle anything you dish out, but she really isn't," Powell said, watching as Gunnar obviously introduced Charlotte to the two women. As she remembered how hurting Heather had been that night. "Especially right now. She just isn't."

"Then what is she?"

Powell studied the older woman for a moment. There was an agitation about Heather that she hadn't seen before. But the woman had been through utter hell. Haldyn had shared some details about why Steve Wilson had focused on Hope. Powell couldn't imagine how Heather had made it through. "She's afraid, Mac. Terrified. Beyond afraid in ways I don't think you can ever imagine. She has been through more hell than any one woman deserves. And it is heartbreaking on the soul-deepest level. I'm not sure how she's even made it this far."

His eyes showed pure curiosity. Well, she wasn't going to gossip about that woman—even with her brother. And she wasn't stupid. He'd find out eventually.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I…didn't realize. Does Luc know?"

Powell shook her head. "I don't think so. It's bad. Really bad. It's…why Kimball went off the deep end that night in the first place, I think. Major Crimes is trying to keep it quiet, Haldyn said. To protect Heather and Hope. It's not common knowledge."

Powell hoped it never would be.

"I see. I definitely didn't realize."

"I don't think anyone did," Powell stood. "I'm going to go talk to Cara. Let her know I am here. She struggles sometimes with people and new situations. She has autism—she manages well, most times. But when she's stressed, it can cause her to struggle a little. Keep an eye on Brandt, will you?"

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself," her twin said.

"I'm beginning to doubt it. None of you have proven you can yet. It's why I have to keep an eye on all of you constantly. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it. It is one of my Powell powers, after all."